Intimamedia Complex Thickening of The Common Carotid Artery in Patients with Arterial Hypertension as A Predictor of Cardiovascular Diseases

Abstract

Arterial hypertension (AH) is one of the major risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. Recently, to study atherosclerotic lesions of the arteries and obtain more accurate information about the volume and extent of their damage, ultrasound (US) is widely used. Information about the intima-media complex thickening, determined using ultrasound, help in predicting heart attack and stroke. Given the urgency of this problem, the purpose of the present article was to determine the intima-media complex thickening in patients with hypertension and to evaluate the effectiveness of antihypertensive therapy. Materials and methods of the study. The study was conducted in the II neurological department of the Republican Clinical Hospital named after Academician M.Mirgasimov. The study included 60 hypertensive patients at the age of 50-80 years, of which 34 were women and 26 were men. The average age of men was 66.2±15.9 years, and women - 67.1±14.8 years, the duration of hypertension - 15.6±4.9 years. Results. The study showed that 51 patients with AH (86.6±5.6%) had atherosclerotic lesions of the carotid arteries (intima-media complex thickening was >0.9 mm). Diffuse intima-media complex thickening (>1.3) was detected in more than half of AH patients – 31 people (52.6±4.8%). The history of hypertension had its effect on the intima-media complex thickening. With the duration of hypertension up to 1 year, there was an unreliable intima-media complex thickening (1.0±0.2 mm). With the duration of hypertension more than 5 years, the increase in intima-media complex thickening was more pronounced – 1.24±1.1 mm. With an AH of more than 10 years, the intima- media complex thickening was 1.3±1.4 mm. Correlation analysis demonstrated a high correlation between the intima-media complex thickening and the duration of arterial hypertension (r=0.203). Conclusion. Intima-media complex thickening in patients with AH on the background of antihypertensive therapy being conducted indicates its inefficiency, which significantly increases cardiovascular risk. In patients with combined pathology, significant changes in the common carotid artery are more pronounced only in comparison with patients with hypertension. In patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 and hypertension, risk factors such as the duration of diabetes, glycemia, visceral obesity, high-density lipoproteins decreasing, have a significant effect on the increasing in intima-media complex thickening.